Breaking Point
by Gimlifan8
Summary: Alex Mahone had seen Michael Scofield make incredible sacrifices. He had never dreamed one day he would be on the receiving end. My take on how Alex Mahone found out about Michael's tumor. Not Character Death, but not AU either. Oneshot. SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4!


**Hi! So, my first Prison Break fanfic. If the characters are OOC, please know that I really tried to keep them in-character and would like it very much if you guys pointed out all mistakes that you see. Suggestions, criticism, praise….they're all welcome!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Prison Break.**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

Lincoln Burrows Junior was standing at a side of the closed door of the Operation Theatre.

On the opposite side of him was his father, Lincoln Burrows Sr., leaning against the wall.

Sara Tancredi was sitting on the bench with her head in her hands.

Fernando Sucre was sitting beside her with his eyes closed, his fingers steepled in prayer.

Finally, Alexander Mahone, looking disheveled, was at the farthest corner, his eyes fixed on the opposite wall and an expression of disbelief etched onto his face.

It was obvious from the gathered crowd who, exactly, was in the Operation Theatre.

_4 hours ago:_

"LJ, come on!" Alex Mahone shouted. He was running as fast as he could, pulling Lincoln Jr. by the hand, who was doing his best to keep up. They did not stop until they were at the northwest corner of the plaza.

Since exposing the Company, the team had hardly had a moment's peace. All of the arrests hadn't been made yet, andthe ones that had escaped had concentrated on planning all sorts of attacks on everyone concerned with bringing Scylla into the light. This particular fiasco was the result of another avenging mission, consisting of abducting and killing LJ to ensure maximum pain for the brothers. It was only Paul Kellerman's timely warning that prevented them from being lured straight into the trap. As it was, LJ had volunteered to take the risk in order to capture this small band, and his uncle had done all the planning.

Said person, Michael Scofield, joined them after a moment, panting slightly.

"Lincoln is in the grate." He said, checking his watch. "Only 12 seconds now."

Mahone and LJ both tensed.

"11...10...9..."

"Where are we going?" LJ whispered urgently.

"Just follow me." Alex hissed back.

"3...2...1...Now!

The lights turned off, and they ran towards the door to their left. Alex was at the front, LJ in the middle and Michael was bringing up the rear, occasionally glancing over his shoulder.

They took the emergency stairs, to which the door was now open, to the rooftop. Michael looked around; then pulled off a hidden door from the roof floor. He crawled in, then beckoned the others in.

He led them through dark tunnels, and stopped in front of a duct.

"We have to take this to get down." He told LJ, who swallowed, but nodded.

"We have about 30 seconds till the power comes back in. There shouldn't be any leak, but we won't take any chance. Alex, you go first."

Mahone quickly slid down the duct, the end of which was hanging two meters over the floor. He landed in a crouch, straightened, then beckoned to LJ.

LJ slid down smoothly, though Alex had to steady him when he hit the floor.

Michael had no such problems, and he straightened as soon as he hit the ground.

They ran into the parking garage, but this time Michael was at the front.

Michael ushered LJ into the gray saden Lincoln was already waiting in, while Mahone and he entered another car.

"What are they doing?" asked LJ.

"They'll go first, so anyone monitoring the garage's gonna think you're in that car." said Lincoln. He wasn't happy with this part of the plan, but he'd accepted it for LJ's sake.

The other car's windows were tainted. It had two seats, for it was a racing car. Michael took the wheel, Alex sat beside him.

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Michael drove fast, taking turns frequently. Alex glanced behind them.

"They're following." He declared with satisfaction.

"Keep your head down." Michael warned, though a slight smirk played at his lips.

"Yeah."

They played hot pursuit for two minutes; then Michael stopped the car at an abandoned warehouse.

Meanwhile, Sara and Sucre, who were in charge of observing the activities of the enemy, gave Lincoln the green light, and he drove out with LJ. He stopped the car by the sidewalk, and Sara and Sucre got in.

"Now what?" asked LJ.

"Sara'll take you home." said Lincoln.

"But Uncle Mike..."

"Sucre and I'll go after them, but we can't take any risk with you two. Actually, you three." he added, glancing at Sara's belly.

LJ sighed, but nodded. "Alright. Uncle Mike knows you're gonna help them?"

"It was his idea, so yeah, he does."

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Mahone loaded his pistol and Michael loaded his own, both adding silencers, even though if all went according to plan, they wouldn't have to use it. Then they seperated ways, moving silently.

Mahone monitored the men with a critical gaze. There were four men in total, with automatic weapons.

He glanced at the opposite pillar, and even though he could not see anyone, he knew Michael was there.

A clinking sound came from the far left. The men spun around.

As Mahone and Michael had predicted before, two went to check while the other two remained near the entrance.

Mahone waited until they were out of sight, then took a stick from the floor and threw it to his right, careful not to make too much noise.

The two men looked at each other; then one crept forward the way the sound had come from.

Mahone waited until the man could not be seen anymore, before moving silently forward. As soon as he was close enough, he slammed the barrel of his gun on the man's head. He caught the man's limp body, carefully lowering it to the floor.

He saw Michael approach silently. He caught Mahone's eye, and nodded slightly. He had got the other two locked in the small room they had agreed on. Everything was going according to plan.

Now the last one. But as it turned out, they didn't have to worry.

Sucre and Lincoln approached them from the small entryway to their left. "We took one out." said Lincoln.

Michael smiled. "Good. We got the other three."

"And the other two?" asked Lincoln.

Michael and Mahone's eyes widened in alarm. "There's six?"

"Yeah, you didn't see the third car?"

Michael looked at Mahone, who shook his head. "I must've missed them."

"They could be anywhere. We gotta get out, now!"

But it was already too late. Automatic gunfire started raining down, one narrowly missing Lincoln. They scrambled for cover, and were quickly seperated from each other as everyone found position at different points.

Mahone found the first shooter. A single shot from his silencer took care of it.

As the second was about to fire on Mahone, he was shot in the chest twice, by Lincoln. He fell, and the gunfire ceased at once.

Everybody got out from their covers.

As Michael was asking Sucre about Sara and LJ, Mahone walked over to Lincoln.

"Thanks."

Lincoln shrugged. "You pulled me outta the frying pan a few days back, remember? When Christina-"

"Alex, look out!"

Before Mahone could even react, something had knocked him aside and to the ground, just a moment before the unmistakable sound of three gunshots rang out, then a click. Almost simultaneously, he heard Lincoln and Sucre cry out, "Michael!"

Mahone's blood froze. He quickly got up, hoping beyond all hope that his mind, for once, had come to the wrong conclusion.

But that was not to be.

Michael was lying a few feet away, his brow creased and eyes squeezed shut. There were three bullet holes in his body; two in the chest and one near his left shoulder.

Lincoln was already kneeling beside his brother, one hand clutching that of Michael's. Sucre was hovering over them, seemingly at a loss for what to do.

Mahone quickly snapped out of his own dazed state.

"Start the car!" he ordered Sucre.

He hurried over to the brothers. Michael's eyes were now open.

"-gonna be okay." he was whispering to Lincoln.

Mahone would've smiled, if the situation had been less serious.

Same old Michael Scofield, always putting everyone else's concerns before his own.

He knelt down beside Michael. "Get something smooth to lay him on." he told Lincoln.

Michael's eyes searched for a moment before fixing upon Alex's face. He let out a soft sigh, then closed his eyes.

Being so close, Mahone could now see the wounds more clearly. Blood was all but flowing from the one in the shoulder. There was blood in the corner of Michael's mouth, which probably meant at least one lung was damaged.

There were four loud 'crack's, and after a moment Lincoln appeared carrying a legless table.

"That'll do." said Mahone.

As they lifted Michael onto it, Alex saw Michael's lips press into a thin line of pain, but he did not complain.

They set the wooden plate on the back seat. Lincoln sat with Michael, one hand again clutching his younger brother's.

Sucre drove. Mahone sat beside him.

They arrived at a hospital fairly quickly. Upon seeing Michael's injuries, the doctors immediately began rushing about. Lincoln and Sucre was beside him the whole time of the preparation, and Michael was occasionally speaking to them while holding onto his brother's hand. Alex however, for some unknown reason, couldn't bring himself to go to Michael, so he remained standing at a far corner.

Soft footsteps made Alex look up. Sara and LJ entered. Sara had obviously been crying, and LJ didn't look much better, either.

Sara walked over to stand beside Michael, covering his free hand with hers.

Michael opened his eyes. Smiling upon seeing his visitor, he whispered something to Sara, who shook her head and laughed, but it came out like a sob. Michael's eyes seemed to soften, and he again murmured something. Sara nodded quickly in reply.

Then he pulled his right hand free from Lincoln's grasp and beckoned to LJ, his hand trembling slightly.

LJ seemed to fight off tears as he came close. Michael managed to grasp his nephew's hand, then mouthed something. LJ brought his own head down, listened, and chuckled.

At that moment, the surgeon came in, and rushed Michael away. At the last moment, Michael whispered something to LJ. The boy looked a bit confused, but nodded.

After the door to the O.T. had closed, LJ came over to Mahone.

"I don't know what he meant," he said, "But Uncle Mike said to tell you that he doesn't regret it, no matter what happens."

Alex looked up sharply. Then he shook his head, chuckling. But he didn't say anything.

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_Present:_

The light over the O.T. shut down.

A surgeon came outside, stopping short at the amount of people around.

"Are you all here for Mr. Scofield?"

"Yes." Sara answered.

"And are you family members?"

"I'm his fiancé." She gestured to Lincoln. "His brother….and friends."

"Mr. Scofield is not yet out of danger, but the worst has passed for now." The doctor smiled slightly. "If it's any consolation, your fiancé is one of the strongest men I've seen. If anyone can pull through this, he can."

Sara smiled fondly at that. "I know. Is he awake?"

"Yes, you can go see him if you want, but only two visitors at a time. He's being transferred to cabin no. 12."

"Okay. As we go, can you tell me his exact condition?"

"She's a doctor." Lincoln added hastily. The surgeon nodded.

"All right, come on in. I'd imagine Mr. Scofield would like to be told, so I might as well say it to all three of you."

Lincoln and Sara entered the cabin first, but only Lincoln got out. He seemed to be in a considerably lighter mood.

"How is he?" asked Sucre.

"Alive and teasing." was the reply.

Nobody noticed the look of relief that passed over Mahone's face.

LJ went next, then Sucre.

After everybody else had taken their turns, Mahone entered the room.

It was bright with lights. Michael was half-upright on the bed, and Sara was sitting on the chair beside him.

There was a needle sticking out from the back of his left hand, which was connected to a blood bag hanging over his head.

They both looked up as Alex entered. Michael locked eyes with Sara, his gaze imploring. She reluctantly nodded after a while, before standing up. Glancing once at Alex curiously, she got out of the room. There was a soft click as the door closed behind her.

"So," said Mahone, taking a seat on the chair Sara had just vacated. "Here we are."

"Yeah."

"How're you feeling?"

Michael smirked. "Someone is feeling really awkward."

Alex chuckled slightly. "Yeah." he admitted. He had seen before the lengths Michael would go to for the ones he cared about, but he was not used to being on the receiving end of those sacrifices.

Something in Michael's eyes seemed to change.

"I meant what I said earlier, Alex." he said softly.

Mahone looked up sharply, meeting Michael's gaze. He searched the other's eyes for any kind of deception, but there was nothing but honesty in the clear blue orbs as they held his gaze. Finally, Alex nodded slightly.

"Thank you." he said sincerely.

Michael smiled slightly. "You're welcome."

Alex broke the stare. Michael leaned his head against the pillows, and closed his eyes tiredly. Now Mahone felt bad for pushing him like that.

"Told Sara yet?" he asked.

"Nope. And I won't, if you don't want me to."

"I'll tell her."

Michael smiled, eyes still closed. "You're a life savior." he murmured.

Alex chuckled. "Then I can consider myself even after I do this?"

Michael laughed softly, but then seemed to work hard to conceal a wince.

"Where did the bullets hit?" Mahone asked quietly after noticing this.

"The one in the shoulder, it ripped an organ."

_No wonder he was losing so much blood,_ Mahone thought.

"The two in the chest, one grazed a lung, the other got lodged in a rib."

Mahone winced inwardly. Bullets lodged in bones caused terrible pain.

"You must be heavy on painkillers." he commented.

"Yeah. Feeling pretty groggy." Michael admitted.

"Right."

"Is that how you felt when you were without the pills?"

"Maybe." Mahone didn't fail to notice the look of guilt that passed over Michael's face.

"Forget those." he said.

"It's not that simple." Michael sighed heavily. "Maybe I had something in common with my mother after all."

Alex looked up sharply. "You're finding similarities between you and Christina?"

"Strange, no?"

"Michael, you know I'm not one who softens up his words for anyone, and trust me, you're _nothing_ like her."

"That's not what you thought me to be before."

"I didn't know you as well as I now do." Mahone confessed.

Michael raised his eyebrows. "Come again?"

They both stared at each other, then Alex began to chuckle, and Michael joined him.

But the light moment was diminished when Michael broke into a violent coughing fit.

Mahone's eyes widened just a tiny bit, and he quickly helped him to sit up properly.

After the fit subsided, Michael fell back onto the bed, his eyes closed as he took in big gulps of air.

"Thanks." he murmured.

"Well..." Mahone stood up, and though Michael's eyes remained closed, he knew Michael had heard it. "I should get going now."

"Alex, wait."

Mahone stopped.

"I need you to pass a massage for me." Michael opened his eyes, fixing them on Alex's. "Tell Sara to go home and rest. Lincoln's agreed to stay with me. If she gets pushy, remind her of the baby."

Mahone smiled. "Alright, I will."

Michael nodded. "Okay."

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Mahone found Sara in the corridor, talking to Michael's surgeon.

"-release him in a week." The man was saying.

Sara smiled. "Thanks."

After the doctor left, Sara looked about and spotted Mahone in the doorway.

"Hi, Alex." she greeted him warmly.

"Hey." Mahone stepped up to Sara. "I need to talk to you about something."

"Yeah, sure."

"You must have realized by now that Michael's injuries had something to do with me."

Sara looked a little surprised. "Yeah." she confessed. "But nothing more. Why? What happened?"

"An ambush. We managed to take 'em down, though. But one was still alive, and he tried to shoot me, but-" Alex looked down, took a deep breath, and looked up and met Sara's eyes.

"Michael pushed me out of the way."

Sara's eyes widened in surprise, then the look changed to amazement and then a fond smile broke out on her face.

"I'm glad you're okay, Alex." she said. "I can't say that I'm happy with what happened, but I'm okay with the decision he made. If he chose to save his own life, he wouldn't be the Michael Scofield we all know and love."

Alex smiled slightly. "Right. Speaking of Michael Scofield, he told me to get you home. Lincoln's gonna stay with him."

"But..."

"He said it wouldn't be good for the baby."

Sara stopped, her face becoming indignant.

"Damn you, Michael Scofield." she muttered. "Alright. Let's go."

Alex had to stifle a smile.

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After driving Sara and LJ home, Mahone came back to the hospital. Lincoln and Sucre were chatting over baseball.

They did not notice him entering.

"Hey." called Mahone. "How's Michael?"

Both looked up. "The doc left him just a moment ago. He's resting." said Lincoln.

"Hmm." Mahone stuck his head inside. Michael was making an origami crane.

He was about to get his head out, when Michael called softly, "Come in, Alex."

Alex entered. Michael did not look up as he took a seat.

"You did what I asked?" he inquired.

"Yeah. Sara's home."

Michael smiled. "Good."

Alex noticed something off about the smile. Something was wrong.

"What'd the doctor say?" he asked.

Michael's hands froze in the middle of a folding. After a moment, he resumed it again.

"He said I'm healing nicely."

"Just that?"

"Just that."

Alex chuckled humorlessly. "You could've just told me the topic is off-limit."

Michael looked up and met his gaze, held it for a moment, then looked down again, letting out a deep sigh.

"There's been some...complications. They-"

At that moment, Michael's surgeon came in, his face grave.

"Your test results just came in, Mr. Scofield." he said.

Michael took the parchment, scanning it with a critical gaze. When he handed it back, Alex was horrified to see his hands trembling.

"I see." Michael murmured as he leaned against the bed and squeezed his eyes shut.

"How long?"

Alex looked up sharply. He couldn't possibly have meant...

"A year, at the most. I'm so sorry, Mr. Scofield-"

"Could you excuse us for a moment?" Michael interrupted.

"Of course." The doctor left, throwing a quick worried look over his shoulder.

Michael looked at Alex, his eyes shining, and without a word, held out the report.

Alex took only a glance at the paper. He looked Michael in the eye, and the desperation and helplessness he saw there was enough to make him look down.

"I-I'd never hear them call me...call me..." Michael trailed off.

Alex did not have to be told who 'they' were, or what Michael had been expecting to be called. He grasped Michael's hand firmly, and to his utter surprise, Michael squeezed it back as if his life depended on it.

That evening, in the hospital, only Alexander Mahone saw Michael Scofield break down.

fin

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